Perhaps we can use this thread to review claims about draining the swamp and the evidence, pro and con. In his favor, Trump has established guidelines for his team that have chased at least some of the lobbyists out of the transition team. But there is ample evidence on the other side:

1. In a filing with the IRS in their 2015 filing, the Trump Foundation has acknowledged that they have violated the "self dealing" prohibition. That is against the law.

2, Trump claimed yesterday that his business holdings--in a vast number of countries and boards--cannot possibly be a conflict of interest. Wrong on it not being a conflict of interest, apparently correct that there is an exemption for the President and VP. Reported in the Washington Post:

Quote:

“As a general rule, public officials in the executive branch are subject to criminal penalties if they personally and substantially participate in matters in which they (or their immediate families, business partners or associated organizations) hold financial interests,” the Congressional Research Service said in an October report. “However, because of concerns regarding interference with the exercise of constitutional duties, Congress has not applied these restrictions to the President. Consequently, there is no current legal requirement that would compel the President to relinquish financial interests because of a conflict of interest.”

To me far worse than an appearance of conflict of interest in the case of Bill raising funds for the Clinton Foundation.

3. Even with that exemption, Trump's biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, is negotiating witth the Jutice Department over abuses taht helped trigger the 2008 meltdown. Will there be a sweetheart deal? Will Trump have Session do the dirty work?

4. Even with the exemption for the President, the emoluments clause bars public officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments unless blessed by Congress. Thus his call to an Argentine official to speed up processing of permits appears to be illegal.

5. While much of the left's concerns about Bannon have focused on his bigotry and association with the alt right, the press seems to have largely glossed over his association, and that of Trump, with Robert Mercer. Mercer's base is the millions he has given to the super PAC Make America Number 1. Now under investigation by the FEC and the FBI. Collusion between PAC's and official campaigns are illegal. Mercer is rich because of his hedge fund, and reform of hedge fund taxation law was one of Trump's promises. Wanna bet?

Who doesn't like term limits? Who doesn't like no lobbying for 5 years? Who doesn't like a lifetime ban on foreign lobbying? Who doesn't like a campaign won with 80% less money than your opponent? Who doesn't like David vs Goliath?

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition-team adviser on financial policies and appointments, Paul Atkins, has been depicted as an ideological advocate of small government. But the ways that the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are likely to approach financial deregulation could serve Atkins’ wallet as well as his political agenda. Like Trump himself, Atkins himself faces potential conflicts between his business dealings and his public role.

In 2009, a year after he finished his term as a Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atkins formed Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm headquartered on 17th Street, nestled blocks from the Hay-Adams Hotel and the south lawn of the White House. While Trump promised to “drain the swamp” of Washington, Atkins’ environs could not get any swampier. Patomak’s president is Daniel Gallagher, also a right-leaning former SEC commissioner who might be a candidate for SEC chairman under Trump. Former high-level government officials populate Patomak’s ranks.

Patomak has thrived as financial firms tried to navigate the new world of post-crisis regulations. Patomak and its counterparts, like Promontory Financial Group, are not technically lobbyists, but they exploit their connections to regulators to help their clients — banks and other financial institutions — navigate the rules. (Such consulting firms say they help clients comply with, not circumvent, the rules. A Patomak spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.)

Mac... It is truly amazing who is getting appointed to key positions. I had hoped Trump would just hire the best, not happening... Loyalists, fundraisers, sycophants getting key jobs... Amway, a pyramid scheme gets Department of Education- remarkable..

Mac... It is truly amazing who is getting appointed to key positions. I had hoped Trump would just hire the best, not happening... Loyalists, fundraisers, sycophants getting key jobs... Amway, a pyramid scheme gets Department of Education- remarkable..

Now you know how we felt when Barry picked the tree huggers, union goons, environmental nazis, and his cast of Chicago thugs and race baiters he surrounded himself with.

I find it funny and hypocritical that the left is so against charter schools.

Mac... It is truly amazing who is getting appointed to key positions. I had hoped Trump would just hire the best, not happening... Loyalists, fundraisers, sycophants getting key jobs... Amway, a pyramid scheme gets Department of Education- remarkable..

Now you know how we felt when Barry picked the tree huggers, union goons, environmental nazis, and his cast of Chicago thugs and race baiters he surrounded himself with.

I find it funny and hypocritical that the left is so against charter schools.

As soon as the inner city moms figure out how beneficial they'll be, Trump will get 50% of the Black vote.

Mac... It is truly amazing who is getting appointed to key positions. I had hoped Trump would just hire the best, not happening... Loyalists, fundraisers, sycophants getting key jobs... Amway, a pyramid scheme gets Department of Education- remarkable..

Yet you were so unmoved when Senator Obama drained Wall street for his team in 2009 and put friends and fundraisers in key positions. Since Nov 4, when Hillary was a lock, Dow up 1250 points. In the past you have always loudly linked market performance to a successful Administration. Yet no daily ON FIRE! updates now? Be an adult, measure them on results not Jill Stein's blog.

Mac... It is truly amazing who is getting appointed to key positions. I had hoped Trump would just hire the best, not happening... Loyalists, fundraisers, sycophants getting key jobs... Amway, a pyramid scheme gets Department of Education- remarkable..

Now you know how we felt when Barry picked the tree huggers, union goons, environmental nazis, and his cast of Chicago thugs and race baiters he surrounded himself with.

I find it funny and hypocritical that the left is so against charter schools.

As soon as the inner city moms figure out how beneficial they'll be, Trump will get 50% of the Black vote.

That's why Michelle Rhee was run out of Washington DC on a rail?

Here's a test for you true believers. Provide a valid source that establishes that charter schools outperform public schools if they accept all students. Just one.

Here'as a little help. Diane Ravitch has written and researched extensively on public education. She was high in the Bush I administration. Here's her take on Devos:

Quote:

Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is appointing as education secretary Betsy DeVos, the billionaire Republican who is a major champion and founding funder of the modern education privatization movement. Bringing no significant experience in public education, DeVos is a billionaire member of a family that has cultivated extensive power and influence in conservative circles thanks to its fortune from the Amway Corporation.

Trump’s appointment immediately provoked objection, with writer and historican Diane Ravitch slamming DeVos as someone who “does not hide her contempt for the public schools.”

There are certainly well-meaning people who support charter schools, and places where the schools are such a mess that charters make sense. But there are also people lining up to take the money from public education and establish separate schools that don't accept students with issues. Like my grandson.

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